


Doing the Right Thing

by Fenchurch87



Series: The Eye of the Storm [6]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, F/M, Feelings, Feelings Realization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 23:32:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15617460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenchurch87/pseuds/Fenchurch87
Summary: Eve Trevelyan reunites with the Inquisition after Corypheus's attack on Haven and has a heart to heart with Blackwall. Originally written in response to a writing prompt on /r/dragonage.





	Doing the Right Thing

By the third night, the mood amongst the Inquisition was despondent. Until now, everyone had still had the wild hope that the Herald of Andraste would suddenly come striding through the camp. That hope was gone. Nobody had said it out loud, but everyone knew that she would have caught up with them by now, if she had survived the avalanche. The Inquisition's progress was not fast. Moving that many people and horses was tricky at the best of times, and the snow made everything far more difficult. The best they could manage was a painfully slow trudge. Eve only had herself to worry about, and she was strong. She could have outpaced them easily.

_They're broken_ , Thom thought as he gazed at the haggard faces surrounding him. He felt broken too, but for a slightly different reason. Most of the people here mourned the Herald of Andraste. He mourned Eve Trevelyan. Joining the Inquisition had seemed like a good idea at the time. He'd thought that helping them might be the best way to make amends for what he'd done. And perhaps he had been dazzled by the woman at the centre of it all. The woman who he had failed. “Run!” she had shouted at him, at all of them. And he had run, leaving her to face Corypheus alone. Leaving her to die. _You fucking coward._

He was so lost in his own dark thoughts that he barely noticed Cullen and Cassandra running past him. Cullen's shout caught his attention though.

“It's her!” the Commander called over his shoulder to Cassandra.

“Thank the Maker!” Cassandra shouted back, still running towards the edge of the camp.

No. It couldn't be. Could it? He stood up and looked in the direction they had gone. Straining his eyes, he could just about see a small figure with long blonde hair staggering towards the camp. As he watched, the figure stumbled and then collapsed in the snow.

“Eve!” Without thinking about what he was doing, he began to run. When he finally reached her, Cassandra and Cullen were already there, kneeling in the snow. It looked like Cullen was about to lift her up, but he pushed him aside. “I'll carry her.”

Cullen looked a little surprised, but he didn't argue. Cassandra raised an eyebrow, and he saw her exchange a look with Cullen as he lifted Eve in his arms. _They know._ He cursed himself as he carried her towards the camp. His anger was soon replaced with worry. Eve was shivering violently, and she felt like ice. He began to talk to her. He wasn't sure if she could hear, but he felt that he needed to say something comforting. “You're safe now, my lady,” he murmured softly. “I won't fail you this time, I promise.”

Quite a crowd had gathered around him by the time he reached the main campfire. The dejected mood in the camp had changed to excitement. He could hear hopeful whispers everywhere. “The Herald is alive!” “The Herald has returned!” He almost hoped Eve couldn't hear them. She hated being referred to as “The Herald”. He carefully laid her down on a blanket, where she was immediately surrounded by everyone with even an ounce of healing knowledge – Mother Giselle and her team of clerics, Master Adan and his apprentice, several of the rebel mages. He moved away to sit by one of the smaller fires. There was nothing else he could do for her now, and he would only get in the way.

*****

“Warden Blackwall?”

He started. How long had he been sitting there, staring into the flames? He turned around to face Mother Giselle. “Is she–?”

“She's exhausted and she's very cold, but she'll be fine after a good rest by the fire. She should be resting now, but she's refusing to sleep. She keeps saying she has too much to do. It was all I could do to stop her getting out of bed. Stubborn woman.” Mother Giselle gave him a sideways look, and when she spoke again she sounded almost amused. “Anyway, I thought you'd want to be one of the first to know.”

_So she knows too. Maker's balls._ He thanked Mother Giselle and headed towards Eve's makeshift bed by the main campfire. _Just to make sure she's alright_ , he told himself. She was sitting up, surrounded by what looked like a mountain of blankets. She smiled at him as he approached, and his heart gave a little jump. _Fool._

“You carried me here, didn't you?” she said as he sat down beside her. “And you talked to me as well. Or did I dream that? Ugh, my head's so confused.”

“You didn't dream it,” he replied. He had to concentrate very hard to make sure he didn't say something foolish. He seemed to lose all of his wits whenever he was around her.

Eve nodded at his words. A lock of blonde hair fell forwards in front of her eyes, and she brushed it aside with an annoyed gesture. She was silent for a while, and he could see indecision in her face. What was she thinking, behind those beautiful eyes? They looked almost purple in the flickering light from the fire. Suddenly, her face cleared as though she had decided on something. “Thank you,” she said simply, and then she reached for his hand.

For a moment he was too surprised to do anything, but then he found himself squeezing her hand and linking his fingers with hers. They sat in silence for several minutes, afraid to speak in case it ruined the moment. Finally, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “I should let you rest. I'm sorry for disturbing you.”

Eve held on to his hand. “I don't have time to rest. I need to figure out how to deal with Corypheus. Do you know what he is?” she asked, searching his face for answers. “Is he a darkspawn?”

Another Grey Warden question. At least he didn't have to lie this time. “I believe he is a darkspawn,” he said carefully. “But he's like no darkspawn I've ever seen before. I'm as lost as you are as to how to defeat him. I'll tell you one thing, though.” He paused to look into her eyes, so she could see that he truly meant his next words. “I swear I'll take that twisted bastard down. Or die in the attempt.”

Eve's eyes stared back into his. “I'm not losing anyone to Corypheus,” she said fiercely. “Especially not you.” She gave his hand another squeeze as she spoke.

That was the closest either of them had ever come to admitting how they felt about each other. It had always been small hints and suggestions, and he hadn't been sure what her true feelings were. But now... _This can't go on. You have to end it._ He forced himself to let go of her hand. “My lady–”

Eve must have heard something in his voice. She suddenly looked mortified. “Oh no! I'm so sorry! I thought you– But clearly I was mistaken. I'm sorry.” She sounded crushed.

“You weren't mistaken,” he said softly. “But this can't happen. You're the Herald of Andraste, and I'm–I'm just a Grey Warden. You'd have no life with me. And I'm not worthy of you.”

“That's ridiculous.” Eve didn't look upset, he realised, just confused. As though he were a puzzle she had yet to find the answer to.

“It's the truth,” he said, far more harshly than he'd intended. “This cannot be. Please don't make this harder than it already is.” He made himself stand up and walk away, without looking back.

_You did the right thing._ He tried to tell himself that, over and over again. But if this was the right thing, why did his heart feel so empty?

 


End file.
